Lions Take Down F&M; Fall To Hofstra In Tri-Meet At Hofstra

Saturday, February 1

Hempstead, N.Y.

3:00 p.m.

Columbia University

Franklin and Marshall

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/David Collins

Lions Take Down F&M; Fall To Hofstra In Tri-Meet At Hofstra

2/1/2020 9:44:00 PM | Wrestling

Box Score (F&M)Box Score (Hofstra)

First-year Kyle Mosher and sophomore Joe Franzese each collected a pair of wins on the day.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – In a pair of matches at Hofstra, Columbia Wrestling (4-3, 4-2 EIWA; 0-1 IVY) split the action, taking down Franklin & Marshall (4-6, 1-5 EIWA) 25-15 to open the day, before dropping a tough match to hosting Hofstra (7-5, 4-0 EIWA), 24-14, on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the David S. Mack Center, to wrap up a weekend which saw Columbia go 2-1 in three Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association matches.

In the match against Franklin & Marshall the Lions collected wins from sophomores No. 31 Joe Manchio, Joe Franzese and Sam Wustefeld, along with wins from first years Angelo Rini, Kyle Mosher and Lennox Wolak. Against Hofstra, the Lions got wins from sophomore No. 28 Matt Kazimir and first-year Andrew Garr, along with Franzese and Mosher.

"I think today was a tale of two duals," said David and Michael Barry Assistant Coach of Wrestling Joe Nord. "Against Franklin & Marshall I thought we let the foot off the gas a bit, they are a team I thought we could have beaten by a bigger margin, but they are at the same time a team that comes out and wrestles hard and we were able to answer that call to get the win there.

"As for Hofstra, I thought the effort by the guys was there and we knew going in that it would be a competitive match and that is exactly what we got. We were in a position to win the dual, but a couple of big moments that did not go our way, cost us the match. We have a young group of guys here and sometimes that is a situation you will encounter at times.

"But overall the coaching staff and I were happy with the effort and intensity that the boys brought to both matches, and even though we lost, the intensity for the Hofstra match was where we wanted them to be to compete at a high level."

Overall the Lions went 2-1 over the weekend, taking down LIU, 45-3, on Friday, Jan. 31, before knocking off Franklin & Marshall to start Saturday's tri-meet.

HOW IT HAPPENED (FRANKLIN & MARSHALL): The opening match of the tri-meet began at 125 pounds, with Manchio opening the action for Columbia with a 4-2 decision victory over Jose Diaz, to put Columbia up 3-0 to start the match. At 133 pounds, the Lions continued to build their lead, with Rini dominating his match against Jack Bruce, recording a 22-3 technical fall victory in the third period to push Columbia's lead to 8-0.

Franklin & Marshall took the next two matches, with Wilfredo Gil winning in a 7-5 decision over Kazimir at 141 pounds, before Cristiaan Dailey won his match against Garr, 14-6, taking a major decision to put the score at 8-7, with Columbia still in the lead. At 157 pounds, Mosher got the momentum back in Columbia's favor with a win via fall at 1:55 over Noah Chan, firmly putting Columbia back in control with the score sitting at 14-7.

A technical fall win (16-1) by Emmett LiCastri at 165 pounds over Sam Webster, gave Franklin & Marshall another five points, but Columbia was not phased, as the next three matches would go in favor of the Lions. At 174 pounds Wolak returned the favor with a technical fall win of his own, knocking off Crew Fullerton, 23-3, giving Columbia a 19-12 lead.

In the next two matches, the Lions would lock up the victory, with Franzese winning his match via decision, 6-2, against Reid Robilotto at 184 pounds, and his win was followed up by a 10-4 decision from Wustefeld, over Ethan Seeley, at 197 pounds, putting Columbia firmly in front, 25-12.

At 285 pounds, sophomore Danny Conley dropped his match to Vincenzo Pelusi, 5-0, in the final bout of the match, but the Lions had already locked up the 25-15 win to open the tri-meet adding a one to the win column.

COLUMBIA 25, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 15
Hempstead, N.Y. (David S. Mack Center)

125 | No. 31 Joe Manchio (Columbia) def. Jose Diaz (F&M), dec. 4-2
133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) def. Jack Bruce (F&M), TF 22-3
141 | Wilfredo Gil (F&M) def. No. 28 Matt Kazimir (Columbia), dec. 7-5
149 | Cristiaan Dailey (F&M) def. Andrew Garr (F&M), maj. 14-6
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. Noah Chan (F&M), fall (1:55)
165 | Emmett LiCastri (F&M) def. Sam Webster (Columbia), TF 16-1
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) def. Crew Fullerton (F&M), TF 23-3
184 | Joe Franzese (Columbia) def. Reid Robilotto (F&M), dec. 6-2
197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) def. Ethan Seeley (F&M), dec. 10-4
285 | Vincenzo Pelusi (F&M) def. Danny Conley (Columbia), dec. 5-0

HOW IT HAPPENED (HOFSTRA): Much like the first match of the day, Columbia's meeting with Hofstra started at 125 pounds, with Manchio falling via a major decision, 13-0, to Dylan Ryder and Rini dropped his match via decision, 15-8, to Justin Hoyle to give Hofstra an early 7-0 lead. But Kazimir was up to the task at 141 pounds, getting Columbia on the board with a 10-0 major decision victory over Vinny Vespa to put the score at 7-4.

The next two matches, following Kazimir's win, would go in favor of the Lions, with Garr scoring a major decision victory (11-3) over Reece Heller at 149 pounds and Mosher kept his hot stretch going with a hard-earned battle with Holden Heller which resulted in a 2-0 decision victory for the Lion first-year. With the score sitting at 11-10, and Hofstra holding the lead, Ricky Stamm got a late takedown against junior Riley Jacops to steal a 3-1 decision at 165 pounds, setting up a big match at 174 pounds.

In the match that turned the momentum, Sage Heller would record a win via fall (4:15) over Wolak, needing a lucky break in the match by using the momentum of Wolak against him in a bout that Wolak was winning to earn the pin and give Hofstra six team points. At 184 pounds Franzese put the Lions back in the win column with a solid 3-0 decision over Charles Small to put the score at 16-14 in Hofstra's favor.

At 197 pounds, Trey Rogers put the Lions in a position where they needed a pin at 285 pounds, by beating Wustefeld via a major decision, 14-6, putting the score at 20-14. The final bout was at 285 pounds, and despite Conley working hard throughout, and taking top at the start of the final round looking to work the pin, the Lion sophomore was unable to stick his opponent as Zachary Knighton-Ward won the match via major decision to put the final score at 24-14 in favor of Hofstra.

HOFSTRA 24, COLUMBIA 14
Hempstead, N.Y. (David S. Mack Center)

125 | Dylan Ryder (Hofstra) def. No. 31 Joe Manchio, maj. 13-0
133 | Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) def. Angelo Rini (Columbia), dec. 15-8
141 | No. 28 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) def. Vinny Vespa (Hofstra), maj. 10-0
149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) def. Reece Heller (Hofstra), maj. 11-3
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. Holden Heller (Hofstra), dec. 2-0
165 | Ricky Stamm (Hofstra) def. Riley Jacops (Columbia), dec. 3-1
174 | Sage Heller (Hofstra) def. Lennox Wolak (Columbia), fall (4:15)
184 | Joe Franzese (Columbia) def. Charles Small (Hofstra), dec. 3-0
197 | Trey Rogers (Hofstra) def. Sam Wustefeld (Columbia), maj. 14-6
285 | Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) def. Danny Conley (Columbia), maj. 8-0

UP NEXT: The Lions will remain on the road for another three-match road swing, starting on Friday, Feb. 7 when the Lions visit Drexel before taking on Ivy League foes Penn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and No. 16 Princeton, in Princeton, New Jersey, on Saturday, Feb. 8.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@ColumbiaWR), Instagram (@columbiawr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).